So your kids love a blocky game known as Minecraft. What exactly is this game? Why do they love it so much? Here’s a breakdown of Minecraft and its major components.
Minecraft Basics
Minecraft was developed by a Swedish designer named “Notch” in 2009. And your kids aren’t the only ones obsessed with it. More than 20 million copies of the game have been sold. The name Minecraft comes from the game’s main roles, digging (mining) and building (crafting).
It is a first-person ‘sandbox game,’ meaning gamers make their own experience and world within the game. Those worlds and experiences are based totally on the gamers’ imaginations. Kids can build famous landmarks (i.e. Empire State Building, Eiffel Tower) movie scenes (i.e. Star Wars or Harry Potter), or anything else they can dream up with the 3D blocks that are Minecraft’s trademark. Players can create individually or as a group, and even when working alone, Minecraft allows for conversation amongst other players on the same server.
Check out this video on the basics of Minecraft from our Grownup Camp last summer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtfJv0p0Jfg
Modes
Minecraft has five types of play: Survival Mode, Creative Mode, Hardcore Mode, Spectator Mode, and Adventure Mode.
In Survival Mode, gamers are dropped randomly into a world at dawn. They have 10-20 real-time minutes to gather resources, assemble shelter, and find food to survive. When darkness falls, they also have to battle monsters and mobs. Check out this video on Survival Mode in Minecraft from our Grownup Camp last summer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EljeIqH0h0
In Creative Mode, players can’t die and are given an infinite number of blocks to build with. The players don’t have to worry about getting hungry or hurt in this mood either. In this mode, players can more easily create massive structures.
There are three lesser used modes. In Hardcore Mode, the game is set to an extreme difficulty level. In Spectator Mode, players can only explore the world, but cannot interact with it. Adventure Mode limits the tools players can use to do certain tasks.
Redstone
Redstone comes in two forms in Minecraft – ore and dust. Players obtain ore by mining it in the ground and dust is produced from the ore. Redstone dust is Minecraft’s version of electricity. It allows players’ to turn on lights, open doors, build devices that can lift materials, and much more.
Check out this video on Redstone from our Grownup Camp last summer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqkR6oLIA6Q
Spleef
Spleef is a competitive mini-game within Minecraft. During Spleef, players try to destroy the ground or blocks under their opponent. When the ground breaks, a player falls into a pit of lava and loses the minigame. The last player standing is the winner.
Griefing
Griefing occurs win a player(s) in the game irritate or anger another player or group of players by either destroying structures or constructing obstacles. Griefing can also occur when a player steals an item in the game from another player. At Connected Camps, griefing is strictly monitored by our experienced counselors and we have processes in place to resolve any issues.
We have a Code of Conduct that includes no griefing, being respectful, keeping personal information such as real names or any contact information private, and being a friendly and helping others. Read our full Code of Conduct for more information.
Check out these resources to learn even more about Minecraft:
Now that you are up to speed on Minecraft, why not sign up your kids for our free, online Minecraft Kid Club or take advantage of early bird pricing and sign them up for Minecraft Coding workshops and Summer camps!
Sign up for Online Minecraft Kid Club
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